Lucy Victoria Ward (born 12 December 1989)[citation needed] is a British singer-songwriter from Derby. She performs, with a voice described as expressive and powerful,[nb 1] traditional English folk songs as well as her own material. Her three albums, Adelphi Has to Fly, Single Flame and I Dreamt I Was a Bird, have been critically acclaimed and have each received four-starred reviews in the British national press.[1][2][3][4]

On 7 August 2013, in a concert at St Pancras Old Church, London, she launched her second album, Single Flame. Produced by Stu Hanna, it was released by Navigator Records on 19 August 2013.[10] The album includes "For the Dead Men", a self-penned protest song, which was released as a single in January 2012 coupled with a remixed version of "Maids When You’re Young". This was again produced by Stu Hanna, who also performs on the two tracks, with his wife Debbie Hanna providing backing vocals.

In a four-starred review for The Guardian, Robin Denselow said that Lucy Ward "proves to be an even more mature and thoughtful singer-songwriter than she was on Adelphi Has to Fly" and described her follow-up album as "impressive and original" and "a brooding, often angry set that deals with everything from politics to love, death and personal tragedy, with a couple of powerful traditional songs added in".[2]

Lucy Ward was commissioned by BBC Radio 3's The Verb to write a song based on Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North and South. Her live performance of her new song "Creatures and Demons" was included in a special programme on Mrs Gaskell, broadcast on 3 October 2014.[17]

She has performed and recorded with the Cupola trio (Doug Eunson, Sarah Matthews and Oli Matthews)[19] as Cupola:Ward, releasing in 2012 the EPFour and, in 2016, a debut album, Bluebell.

She provided vocals on one of the tracks – "Gospel of the Sun" – on David Gibb's 2011 album There Are Birds in My Garden[20][21] and on a track – "There's a Dragon in My Bedroom" – on Gibb's 2014 album Letters Through Your Door.[22] She also provided backing vocals on three of the tracks on Marc Block's album The Hawthorn Spring, released on 15 April 2014.[23] Her vocals also appear on the 2015 Mills and Chimneys album The Common Thread.[24]

Lucy Ward was a Young Folk Award finalist in the 2009 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards[25][26] where she performed "Stitch in Time" by Mike Waterson. The song was included on the third CD of the album BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2009[27] and a longer recording appeared on her 2011 album Adelphi Has to Fly.

In the 2012 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards she won the Horizon award (for best newcomer). Her recording of "Maids When You’re Young", which was subsequently included on the first CD of the album BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2012,[28] was nominated as best traditional track.[29]

In 2014 she was nominated for the "Folk Singer of the Year" award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.[30] Her recording, from Single Flame, of the Roud 1302 song "Marching Through the Green Grass", was included on the album BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2014.[31]